NFL Draft Rumors: Browns Wise to Take Second Look at Matt Kalil

Matt Kalil, the offensive tackle from USC, reportedly has a new suitor. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a source close to the situation has informed the paper that the Cleveland Browns will travel to conduct a private workout with the 6'6" offensive lineman just over a week before the 2012 NFL draft.

This is the right move by the Browns, for a multitude of reasons.

For one, the uncertainty of the draft never fails to amaze us in the crowd, who think mock drafts are all but certain and teams are locked into certain players before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even gives them a countdown.

Does anyone remember the 2006 draft? Reggie Bush, then of USC lore, was almost a lock to head to the Houston Texans with the No. 1 overall selection. Then Mario Williams jumped in and everyone felt like Houston had been bamboozled into making one of the wrong choices in NFL draft history.

Anyone want to reevaluate that now?

It's an inexact science, picking players, and by now we should realize that whether a guy is drafted with the first pick, or the 200th, that it's all about playing football and filling a need for a certain team.

Kalil, on paper, doesn't seem like he would fit with the Browns. They already have an All-Pro-caliber left tackle with Joe Thomas, and with so many other needs to address, putting Kalil on the right side just because he fell to them at No. 4 doesn't seem like the smart move.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to different philosophies. Do you draft for need, or do you take the best player available?

Whatever the strategy is for the Browns, they are doing the right thing by taking a second and third and however many looks they've had at the guy. What if the Vikings take a receiver or defensive player at No. 3? What if Minnesota surprises us all and trades down?

Cleveland needs to have an accurate measure of what Kalil's value is on the open market, as well. If they've evaluated his skills as exceptional yet don't feel they're getting equal return, maybe they hold on to him and see if they can land a slew of picks for him or Thomas in the future.

Either way, the draft gives us so many variables and players that it's often hard to keep up. Doing their due diligence is the right move here—and a step in the right direction for player evaluation for the entire franchise.